Celine Dion announced concerts as part of her return after a serious illness: I'm ready for it

Photo: MEGA/GC Images

The singer, known for hits like My Heart Will Go On and Because You Loved Me, will perform a series of 10 concerts at a 40,000-capacity stadium in Paris in September and October.

The announcement was made on her 58th birthday. In a message on her Instagram page, Dion called her return "the best gift of my life."

"I'm so ready for this," she told fans. "I feel good, I'm strong, I'm excited, and of course, a little nervous."

Speaking about her health, Dion noted: "I'm doing well, I'm managing the disease, I feel good. I'm singing again and even dancing a little."

"But I have to tell you something very important: over the past few years, every day I have felt your prayers and support, your kindness and love."

"I am grateful to all of you. I can't wait to see you again," she added.

High demand for tickets

Dion, one of the best-selling artists of all time, has not performed live concerts since a show in Newark, New Jersey, on March 8, 2020.

Her Courage tour was then interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic, and she was later diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (a rare neurological autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system), which forced her to cancel all further performances.

For her return to the stage, concert dates are spread out over several days — presumably to avoid excessive strain on her health.

Ticket sales will begin on April 7. Huge demand is expected, but fans can register their interest on her official website starting Tuesday, March 31.

Plans for her return first leaked to the press last week, when the French-Canadian newspaper La Presse reported on them.

Soon after, fans spotted posters in Paris featuring Dion's song lyrics.

On Monday evening, shortly after 8 PM, the Eiffel Tower lit up with the inscription "Paris, je suis prête" ("Paris, I am ready"), and a playlist of songs, including I'm Alive, Encore Un Soir, and My Heart Will Go On, played for fans.

Dion also recorded a French version of her video message announcing the tour; it was broadcast through loudspeakers while the tower was illuminated in purple.

Dion announced her diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) in December 2022.

In her emotional video posted on Instagram, she told fans that the disease affected "all aspects of everyday life."

Stiff Person Syndrome is a little-understood progressive disease in which muscle spasms begin to occur in various parts of the body. This causes pain, limits the patient's mobility, and prevents them from leading a normal lifestyle.

Approximately eight thousand people worldwide suffer from this neurological disorder, where signals from nerves to muscles malfunction.

There is no cure for this disease.

In a 2024 interview with the BBC, Dion revealed that she first noticed symptoms when she began having problems with her voice during a tour.

"It was just a strange feeling, like a small spasm," she said. "My voice wasn't coping, I had to push a little harder."

At the time, she considered it impossible to take a break and tried to sing in a lower register to reduce the strain on her vocal cords.

"All these concerts were sold out a year and a half in advance, all over the world.

And I had to tell people: 'Sorry for my spasm? Sorry for my je ne sais quoi? (I don't know what?)'"

However, her condition worsened and, as she told NBC News, "sometimes makes it difficult to walk and prevents me from using my vocal cords the way I'm used to singing."

"It's like someone is strangling you. Like someone is squeezing your larynx or throat."

In 2024, she told French Vogue magazine about the efforts she is making to cope with the disease.

"As I see it, I have two choices. Either I train like an athlete and work very hard, or I give up — and it's over," she said.

"I chose to work with my whole body and soul — from head to toe — together with a medical team.

Five days a week, I undergo sports, physical, and vocal therapy. I work on my toes, knees, calves, fingers, my singing, and my voice."

These efforts paid off. Dion made a touching return to the stage at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, performing Edith Piaf's classic song Hymne à l'Amour from the Eiffel Tower.

This very composition was the first to play when her concert return was announced at the Eiffel Tower.

The Canadian singer has long felt a special affection for this city.

"When I'm in Paris, I want to love more intensely," she told Vogue in 2024. "This city makes me love more."

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